New constraints on the source, composition, and post-emplacement modification of kimberlites from in situ C–O–Sr-isotope analyses of carbonates from the Benfontein sills (South Africa)

Primary carbonates in kimberlites are the main CO2 carriers in kimberlites and thus can be used to constrain the original carbon and oxygen-isotope composition of kimberlite melts and their deep mantle sources. However, the contribution of syn- and post-emplacement processes to the modification of the C–O-isotope composition of kimberlites is yet to be fully constrained. This study aims to shed new light on this topic through a detailed textural, compositional (major and trace elements), and in situ C–O–Sr isotopic characterisation of carbonates in the Benfontein kimberlite sills (Kimberley, South Africa). Our multi-technique approach not only reveals the petrographic and geochemical complexity of carbonates in kimberlites in unprecedented detail, but also allows identification of the processes that led to their formation, including: (1) magmatic crystallisation of Sr-rich calcite laths and groundmass; (2) crystallisation of late groundmass calcite from hydrothermal fluids; and (3) variable degrees of crustal contamination in carbonate-rich diapirs and secondary veins. These diapirs most likely resulted from a residual C–O–H fluid or carbonate melt with contributions from methane-rich fluids from the Dwyka shale wall rock, leading to higher 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O, but lower δ13C values than in pristine magmatic calcite. Before coalescing into the diapiric segregations, these fluids/melts also variably entrained early formed calcite laths and groundmass phases. Comparison between in situ and bulk-carbonate analyses confirms that O isotopic analyses of bulk carbonates from kimberlite rocks are not representative of the original isotopic signature of the kimberlite magma, whereas bulk C-isotope compositions are similar to those of the pristine magmatic carbonates. Calcite laths and most groundmass grains at Benfontein preserve isotopic values (δ18O = 6–8‰ and δ13C = − 4 to − 6‰), similar to those of unaltered carbonatites worldwide, which, therefore, probably correspond to those of their parental melts. This narrow range suggests kimberlite derivation from a mantle source with little contribution from recycled crustal material unless the recycled material had isotopic composition indistinguishable from typical mantle values.